Coca-Cola, PepsiCo and Dr Pepper Snapple, among the largest beverage companies in the United States, have announced that they will cut calorie levels in their products by 20 percent over the next decade.

A light-hearted look at the odd events happening in the world. Today includes a father with 98 children, a gorilla playing with kittens, and a look at the reactions of those who think the world is ending.

A group, Center for Environmental Health (CEH), announced Wednesday that the caramel coloring used in Pepsi sold outside California still contains high levels of a carcinogen, 4-methylimidazole, even after PepsiCo said it would change its formula.

Pepsi presented a 10-track playlist this week celebrating the 2013 Mad Decent Block Party concert series. Mad Decent Block Party is a concert series being held in 13 cities in the US and Canada this summer.

Both companies are making changes to the way they use caramel colouring in their colas in order to get around a California law that would require their products to contain a warning that the drinks may cause cancer.

Purchase -
PepsiCo is looking to make a dent in the soft drink market once again with a new product.
What's being described as trying to "fill a void" between diet and regular Pepsi, the new item, Pepsi Next, will be a lower calorie soda.

Abu Dhabi -
It turns out size does matter, at least when it comes to selling caffeinated soda in the United Arab Emirates. UAE officials will remove 300 ml size cans of Coke and Pepsi from store shelves.

New York -
PepsiCo Inc. officially announced that it plans to cut 8,700 jobs, or approximately three percent of its workforce. It will also increase marketing spending by about $600 million. This restructuring is estimated to save the company $1.5 billion by 2014.

As reported through various media outlets, Uganda was proposing new anti-homosexual laws that would not only keep the act of homesexuality illegal, but would bring the death penalty to anyone found practicing this act.

A group that advocates what it calls "traditional family values" claims it has organized over 500,000 people who have pledged to boycott Pepsi over what is says are the company's activities promoting gay rights.

The American Heart Association says that sugary foods lead to heart disease and it offers recommendations on sugar consumption that get a strong response from soft drink manufacturers and sugar producers.